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Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said antisemitic attackers are “falsely legitimizing hate under the guise of progressive causes.”
By Shula Rosen
Staten Island borough leaders gathered at the Sea View Jewish community center on Wednesday to address the problem of growing antisemitism, SI Live reports.
Leaders from various religious communities, law enforcement officers, and organization heads participated in the gathering.
Borough President Vito Fossella presided at the conference, which was intended to address the fact that antisemitism is reaching physically dangerous and deadly levels following the fatal shooting in Washington, DC and the flamethrowing attack at Boulder, which left many severely injured.
“What we are seeing now is antisemitic attacks that are not just verbal or rooted in true hate but result in murder and the killing of innocent people exclusively and solely because they are Jewish‚, “Fossella said.
“They do so, these animals, because of their warped concept or view of their own little world. What we want to say today is that antisemitic attacks, including assault and murder of Jews, are being cloaked as forms of activism or social justice, falsely legitimizing hate under the guise of progressive causes,” he added.
On May 21, 2025, two Israeli embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., after attending a diplomatic reception. The suspected gunman, Elias Rodriguez, allegedly shouted “Free, free Palestine” during the attack and was arrested at the scene. Authorities have charged him with federal murder and hate crimes.
Fosella also mentioned an incident in Manhattan during which a 72-year-old man was punched in the face for putting up posters advocating for the release of hostages in Gaza.
As the assailant punched the Jewish man, the attacker yelled, “Free Palestine!”
“Here on Staten Island, we are saying provoke somebody for just being Jewish, and you attack somebody for just being Jewish, you will be prosecuted and you will go to jail.”
Fossella said. “We are here standing united with one voice, the people of Staten Island of all religions, of all faiths, wherever we come from, when we come to Staten Island, we are united in peace, and we treat people with respect.”
District Attorney Michael E. McMahon also affirmed the borough’s commitment to prosecute antisemitic hate crimes.
He mentioned that an attacker who hit a Jewish man from Staten Island with a baseball bat served nearly four years in prison.
Other speakers included Inspector Matthew Harrington, representing the New York City Police Department on behalf of Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the borough commander; leaders from Jewish synagogues, Hindu temples, Catholic churches, and Muslim mosques; and Lori Weintrob, a professor instrumental in running the Wagner College Holocaust Center.
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